The invention relates to a call-back telecommunication system and a method for using it and in particular to a call-back system which does not requite integration into a telephone switch and a method of using such a system.
Individuals are increasingly mobile and many are becoming harder to reach at their place of employment. Furthermore, businesses are frequently unwilling to employ sufficient staff in business groups such as sales or support to deal with the number of calls at peak periods, only to have the same staff idle at slack periods. However, if it becomes too difficult for callers to reach individuals or business groups, the callers may become discouraged. Such discouraged callers may represent lost sales opportunities or disgruntled customers.
One way of addressing this problem is to record the caller""s telephone number and to call back the caller at some later time. Receptionists have being doing this for many years, but more recently automatic equipment for this purpose has been described in a number of patents relating to call centre operations. To put the disclosure of these patents in context call centre operation and the systems described in these patents will now be described. However, it should be emphasised that all businesses need systems for dealing with incoming calls, and call-back functionality might be useful to any business, not just in call centres.
A steadily increasing number of businesses are using call-centres to deal with telephone queries from customers. Many banks, financial institutions and insurance companies use such call-centres, but call-centres are not restricted to such uses and call-centres may also be suitable for dealing with customer sales queries or support queries an any of a large number of businesses.
A typical call-centre has a telephone switch which receives calls from the external telephone networks and an automatic call distribution (ACD) system which carries out a number of functions, such as routing each incoming call, intercepting digital information from the incoming call and monitoring call progress. A number of agents are connected to the switch and generally sit at terminals having a voice telephone, a computer screen and a computer input means such as a keyboard and/or a mouse.
Incoming callers are either connected directly to an agent at a terminal, if an agent is free, or held in a queue commonly arranged inside the ACD until an agent becomes free.
However, callers to a call centre frequently object to being held in a queue and can become irate or hang up if they have to wait too long. Those customers may then call a competitor, or simply not call back. Furthermore, if the callers become irate over the length of time they have to wait this makes it difficult for the agent to expeditiously deal with the incoming caller when the agent finally becomes available.
Ideally, sufficient agents would be used to deal with all incoming calls but in most call-centre operations there are very large peaks and troughs in demand. For example, if the call-centre is dealing with telephone orders for products, an advertisement transmitted on the television or radio can markedly increase the number of callers to the call-centre. Also, callers typically bunch at certain times of day. For example, many call-centres experience peaks in calls between 9.00 am and 11.00 am after customers have arrived at work, and also at around 6.30 pm, when the customers return home. It would be economically unfeasible to employ sufficient agents to deal with these peaks and troughs in demand.
To deal with this problem, which is particularly apparent in call centres, the possibility of automatic call-back has been proposed. One such call-back system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,002,760 to Gisby. In this system, there is a single queue initiated by customers calling the call-centre. However, the identity of the caller is automatically determined, or inputted by the caller, to allow the caller to hang up while waiting in the queue. Then, when the caller nears or arrives at the front of the queue, an out-dialler dials the original caller back to connect that caller with an agent The call queue thus combines both callers that are still on hold and callers who have had their identity determined so that they can he called back.
Another call-back system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,761 to Hammond. In this system a robot controller is connected to the telephone switch for handling a call-back queue with a time controller and for calling back a caller when an agent becomes free. When the call-back succeeds, the caller is connected to an agent. Another similar system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,878 to Keys et al.
However, prior art systems have a significant disadvantage in that they require dedicated hardware to handle the calls. The hardware described must cause a switch to connect callers to agent and such dedicated hardware will in general only be able to interface with a very limited selection of switches. Indeed, such hardware is likely only to be particularly suitable for installation in new call-centres or as part of a replacement switch for a call centre. They are thus only suitable for a very small part of the possible market for call-back functionality.
Furthermore, since many businesses rely on their switches, exchanges or call-centres for their business, they require absolute reliability and dependability and are reluctant to change the switch or interfere with its operation just to add call-back functionality
An alternative solution to some of the problems identified above is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,243 in which calls are diverted to a processor which simply stores the CLI/ANI information, for later access by the called business. However, the absence of automatic call-back is a significant inconvenience.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved call-back method and/or system that can be more easily integrated with existing equipment, whether in call cenures or elsewhere, and that can deal with a wide variety of equipment.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a call-back method. Firstly, a call-back handler receives a call from a caller to a client, and determines a number at which the caller can be called back. In due course, the call-back handler initiates a telephone call to the client. A telephone call from the call-back handler to the original caller is made and the original caller is connected to the client in the call-back handler so that the connection between caller and client is routed through the call-back handler.
The call to the client may be made on a telephone standard line, for example a line that uses conventional public switched telephone network (PSTN) standards. By using these standards to connect the call-back handler to the client it becomes much easier to integrate the call-back handler in a variety of situations. Of course, such standards may change in the future or be different in different regions or markets and any appropriate standard may be used.
In embodiments of the invention the call-back handler will initiate a telephone call to the client by transmitting a dial signal to a switch so that the switch can read the dial signal and connect the call to the client in a known manner, or more accurately expressed the call is connected to telephone apparatus at the client. The switch may be a public exchange or private exchange, for example a private branch exchange (PBX).
The term xe2x80x9cclientxe2x80x9d is used in this specification to refer to the called party, and not to imply any contractual relationship between any of the parties.
A preferred embodiment of the invention provides a call-back handler for handling calls made by a caller to a client. The call-back handler includes a caller identification system for recording the identity of the caller, and a telephone standard out-dialler for dialling out using telephone standard codes. The call-back handler includes code for causing the out-dialler to call the client and to wait for the client to answer the call, and for causing the out-dialler to dial the caller when the client answers the call. The handler also contains a switch for connecting the client with the caller so that the call from the client to the caller is connected through the call-back handler.
In the approach of the prior patents described above, control signals have to pass between the call-back handler and a switch and this in turn requires the prior art call-back handlers to be integrated in a switch and pass control signals to the switch. The control signals in the prior art are presumably sent using computer telephony integration (CTI) signals.
In the method and apparatus according to the invention the call between client and caller can be routed directly through the call-back handler, rather than requiring the call-back handler to control the switch to connect the agent to the caller through the switch.
The call-back handler of the invention only requires a telephone connection to a client, who does not even have to have a switch let alone integrate call-back functionality into the switch.
The ease of integration into existing operations of the call-back handler according to the invention may allow more rapid installation of call-back functionality, sufficiently quickly to meet the rapidly changing demands of businesses.
Preferably the call-back handler dials out to both the client and to the original caller using digital signals of the type used to connect digital local switches to a central office switch but the out-dialler may instead use the tones or pulses used to connect conventional handsets to local switches.
Embodiments of the call-back method and apparatus according to the invention may call the client, the called party, before calling the original party back. The prior call-back systems described above have generally called the caller back before connecting the caller to an agent, to maximise agent resource. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,002,760 and 5,155,761 are of this type. Alternatively, the system may display on an agent terminal information whilst connecting to the caller; U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,878 is of the latter type. In either case the call-back handler must be integrated in the switch in order that information as to whether an agent is free is available. In contrast, the invention may function without direct information about whether the client is available; instead the client is first called via the telephone standard connection and then if and only if the client accepts the call is the original caller called back and connected to the client. However, embodiments of the invention may incorporate a data connection between client and call-back handler, as will be mentioned below.
In one arrangement, the call-back handler may be configured to deal with all telephone calls dialled to a particular number.
The provision of a separate call-back handler that need only be connected by telephone lines to the client allows a call-back service to be provided by a third-party call-back service provider that is separate, both spatially and in terms of ownership, from the call centre or other user. The call centre or other user need not install additional equipment, and can hire the call-back service only when need arises, for example when dealing with planned peaks in demand. The calls to the client can be delivered on the public telephone network.
The call back handler may be directly connected to a central office switch rather than to a PBX exchange or to an ACD. The central office switch is a switch one level higher than the local PBX of an individual business; the PBXs of many local businesses are connected to a central office switch. In the prior systems discussed above, when the business switch is overloaded callers simply get the engaged tone and no information regarding them is available to the called business. In contrast, by installing a call-back handler connected one level higher in the telephone network the capability to deal with calls can be enhanced so the call-back handler will only become saturated at much higher levels of calls. The call-back handler may even be connected even more centrally, for example at a public telephone exchange or even a trunk exchange, to still further increase the call-handling capability.
As mentioned, the call-back handler may use public service telephone signals of the type used to connect a central office switch to local PBXs. These signals are, in many territories, digital signals rather than pulses or DTMF tones. The digital signals may carry additional information.
The call-back handler may be arranged locally of the client and dedicated public service telephone standard cabling provided between the call-back handler and the client""s telephone, PBX, ACD or other switch. In contrast to a PBX which connects to individual telephones linked in an office building, the call-back handler according to the invention has a different functionality and dials the client, for example by transmitting dial signals to enable a local switch or public telephone exchange to route the call to the client.
The call-back handler may be arranged to deal with calls that are diverted from a switch because the switch is overloaded. Since many existing ACD systems and some conventional switches have a facility for diverting overflow calls to a pre-determined local extension or distant telephone number, a method and apparatus of handling diverted calls according to the invention can readily be integrated into such systems.
This approach allows a call-back service to be supplied by a third-party to a call-centre or other user to handle overflow calls.
The client may be simply an individual or may be a large company. The client may have a switch or ACD system with a number of extensions, or a single telephone.
The client""s switch or ACD may incorporate a queuing system, so when the call-back system calls the switch back the call waits in the queue until an agent becomes available. In this way, an existing queuing system at the switch can be utilised.
The client may be a call centre with a number of agents, i.e. operators at a terminal. However, the invention also envisages that the calls may be connected to, for example, a computer system capable of handling data calls, or indeed any call-handling system, person, group of persons or combinations thereof. Moreover, although the term xe2x80x9cagentxe2x80x9d is used, which is a term commonly used in call centres, the invention is applicable to any user, including single individuals with a single telephone line, businesses with a PBX system as well as call-centres.
The call-back handler may be arranged to only place a pre-determined number of calls at one time with the client. This pre-determined number may vary with the time, depending on the number of agents available or the expected load.
To deal with calls that cannot be placed immediately with the client, the call-back handler may include a local queue for queuing those additional calls.
The call-back handler may also allow the caller to indicate a preferred call-back time, and use this information in determining when to place the call with the switch. The user may be offered a number of times to call back.
The call-back handler may further allow a caller to input a different number to be called back on than the number from which the caller is calling.
The call-back handler may include a network connection for receiving digital information from the client. The digital information can include information regarding the number of calls received and the number of agents free. The call-back handler may use this information to determine the number of call-backs to the client that the call-back handler should make